Email
PrintWNBA - Shock and awe
Translate that strategy to the basketball court and you have the Tulsa Shock.
Shock and awe, also known as rapid dominance, is a military doctrine based on the use of overwhelming power, dominant battlefield maneuvers and spectacular displays of force to destroy an adversary’s will to fight.
Upon the foundation laid down by the team’s two lead investors, that particular strategy may serve Tulsa’s new WNBA team well. Add in coach Nolan Richardson as the team’s general and you have the ingredients of a new power player in the world of women’s sports.
Oklahoma City businessmen Bill Cameron and David Box may come from diverse business backgrounds, but one quality they share is a passion for sports and entertaining people.
Cameron is the chief executive officer and board chairman of American Fidelity Assurance Co., one of the nation’s largest private, family-owned life and health insurance companies. Box is founder of Box Talent Agency, the largest talent agency in Oklahoma.
The lead investors in Tulsa Pro Hoops LLC, Cameron and Box partnered with a group of investors, including Tulsans Don and Pat Hardin, Sam and Rita Combs, Stuart and Linda Price, Paula Marshall and Pat Chernicky, to bring the Shock to Tulsa from its former home in Detroit.
The two friends sought additional investors — but they wanted more than just investment capital. They identified others who shared the same value system and beliefs.
“We looked for investors who believed in our vision of Tulsa hosting a championship-quality WNBA team that would serve as a role model for young people throughout our state and region,” Cameron says. “We looked for people who believed in Tulsa and who shared our vision of the great entertainment, community role models and community visibility our team could provide. One of our goals is for this to be Tulsa’s team.”
Box echoes that sentiment.
“We looked for quality people — people that were a good match and whose personalities would mesh,” he says. “We wanted those that wanted to invest and become involved in the success of this great team.”
A recipe for success
The process for bringing the Shock to Tulsa began with a simple conversation between Cameron and Box.
“Bill was involved with a Seattle team,” Box recalls. “We met for dinner one night and began discussions for this particular venture.
“We looked at a Houston team, but it really did not make sense. The Shock is great because we carry over the history of the team while starting our own.”
Plus, with the enormous support that the Oklahoma City fan base, as well as the entire state, has shown to the NBA’s Oklahoma City Thunder, the pair was confident that a hoops team in Tulsa would be successful.
“We chose Tulsa because we believe it is ready to show that it can support a top-tier national sports team and has the infrastructure in place to offer our fans a great experience,” Cameron says. “We think the Shock can fill a great regional interest to see and learn from the best women basketball players in the world.”
Box says the BOK Center was a natural place to become the team’s new home.
“Bill and I both love the BOK Center,” he says. “We believe it is a great fit based upon its beauty and the fact that the 7,500 capacity in the bottom bowl provides a good start for success. We like the feel of it.”
Another key to the puzzle is that Tulsa was able to obtain and relocate an established team, the Detroit Shock, rather than suffer the growing pains that often accompany an expansion team.
“Initially we thought we were going to get an expansion team,” Cameron says. “However, as the country’s economic crisis deepened and the problems in Detroit worsened, they were unfortunately no longer able to support the Shock there. We felt sorry for that region losing their team but excited that that their tradition could be continued here.”
That tradition includes winning three WNBA championships (2003, 2006 and 2008), plus playing in the league finals in 2007.
A team comes together
Bringing in Nolan Richardson as head coach may be seen as a slam-dunk in three aspects: coaching ability, personality and familiarity with the Tulsa fans.
Both Box and Cameron look forward to Richardson’s “40 minutes of hell” brand of basketball, in which he maximizes the efforts his players put forth on the court.
“Nolan has a very engaging and appealing personality that seems to draw people,” Cameron says.
Tulsans who followed University of Tulsa basketball back in the early ’80s will recall how popular Richardson became, not only on the court but in the community as well.
While the final roster had not yet been determined as of press time, the Shock promises to be competitive from the season opening tip-off. Between several players making the move from Detroit, such as Alexis Hornbuckle, Plenette Pierson and others; the players selected in the WNBA draft; and even providing local players an opportunity to make the team with an open tryout, the Shock is committed to fielding a team that will continue its championship tradition.
The fan experience
If Box has his way, the action on the court will be just one entertainment opportunity for fans.
He plans to use his talent and entertainment expertise to complement the basketball action with a complete entertainment experience.
“We want to be more than just basketball,” Box says. “Our goal is to provide a total entertainment package for our fans. Providing top-notch halftime and time-out entertainment will be important.
“We’ll have various music groups performing on the concourse at different times. We plan to have all kinds of special promotions. We’ll have a team store where fans can purchase jerseys and other team souvenirs.
“We just want to make sure our fans have a good time. That’s what it’s all about.”
Community impact
Shock President Steve Swetoha promises that the team will project a large presence in the community.
Coming on board with the Shock in mid-January from Charlotte, N.C., where he was executive director of the ACC Football Championship of Charlotte, Swetoha has an extensive sports administration background, including stints with the WNBA’s Charlotte Sting and the NBA’s Charlotte Bobcats.
Swetoha envisions that the Shock will be a winner off the court as well as on the court.
“Our women plan to be involved in the community,” he says. “The league has many important initiatives in which we want to become involved.”
Among those primary league initiatives, the ‘WNBA Breast Health Awareness’ program is perhaps the league’s flagship. The WNBA has raised more than $2 million for the initiative, which focuses on generating awareness and educating women about breast cancer.
Additionally, the WNBA and the American Heart Association have formed an alliance to promote the ‘Go Red for Women’ campaign, which encourages women to learn more about heart health and raises awareness of the risks of heart disease in women.
“WNBA Fit” is another important league initiative, encouraging teens and women of all ages to learn more about their bodies and the importance of physical fitness.
On the court, on the sidelines, in the stands or in the community, the Tulsa Shock is committed to bringing Tulsa and the surrounding area a first-class organization in which its fans can take much pride.
WNBA measure of success
The Shock franchise possesses the highest playoff winning percentage in WNBA history. With a 30-19 overall playoff record, the Shock owns a .612 winning percentage in WNBA post-season play.
Three other teams, the Houston Comets, Phoenix Mercury and Los Angeles Sparks, vie for a close second place on the list of playoff success.
The Comets, which disbanded after the 2009 season, own a 20-14 playoff record and a .588 success rate. Right behind is the Mercury, 17-12 in the playoffs for a .586 winning percentage. In fourth place, the Sparks boast a 30-23 playoff record, or a .566 winning percentage.
Tulsa Shock on national TV
The Shock will receive national exposure twice this season as ESPN2 plans to televise two home games from the BOK Center:
May 25 vs Defending Champion Phoenix Mercury
July 13 vs Los Angeles Sparks
